A Visit to Hogsmeade
by slightlysmall
Summary: When she realizes Harry won't be able to go on their first Hogsmeade trip, she isn't looking forward to spending the whole day alone with Ronald Weasley. But maybe he's a better friend than she thought.


For the Song Fic Boot Camp with the song "A Place in this World" by Taylor Swift.

For the Quidditch Competition: Keeper. "Write a friendship story."

Word Count: 1264

I am not JKR or Taylor Swift. I don't own the characters or the song this is loosely based on.

* * *

Hermione walked beside Ron, a person-sized empty space between them where Harry usually was. It felt strange, going somewhere without Harry. She almost didn't want to go at all, but missing her first Hogsmeade trip didn't seem like an option. Especially after seeing the light in Ron's eyes when he talked about it. She couldn't let him go alone.

Still, it was the first time they had truly spent together one on one. Ron normally made her alternate between feelings of exasperation and awkward friendship, so the prospect of the entire day alone with him was daunting. Maybe she'd find time to be alone.

"Ugh," said Ron when they reached Filch and his Dark Detectors. "I still don't know why we have to go through this. Does he think I'm carrying a pint-sized Death Eater in my pocket or something?"

"Hmm. Maybe because there is a mass murderer on the loose and he's looking for your best friend?"

"Merlin, Hermione. I was just trying to make a joke."

"Well, it wasn't funny." She paused for a moment as they moved down an unknown road, the Harry-sized space between them present like always. "I wish Harry could be here, though. He'll be upset, missing this."

"Are you going to start enjoying yourself or just miss Harry the whole time?"

"Probably both."

"_Girls_," Ron muttered under his breath, but Hermione could still hear it.

The path wandered; it was longer to Hogsmeade on foot, without the horseless carriages to guide them in. "Do you know what's down this road?"

"Hogsmeade."

"That's not exactly what I mean. What stores are there? Surely your brothers must have told you something."

"Sure, yeah. But they also told me I had to fight a dragon for the Sorting."

Hermione laughed at the memory. "Fair point."

Around them, a crowd of older students pressed through, losing track of the beauty its apparent familiarity. She could tell the ones that were on dates; they walked slower, dressed nicer. Hermione couldn't imagine ever acting that way for a boy. She was comfortable in her old blue jeans. Even if she ever _was_ interested in a boy (and who knew when that would happen, with what pigheads they could be at times), she thought she would rather wear her heart on her sleeve than hide it under a layer of poorly applied makeup.

All of Hermione's reserve about going without Harry disappeared when she saw the row of shops appear around a bend. "Ron, look at this place! It's amazing!" It was obvious she wasn't the only one who felt that way. All around her, third years switched from walking to running, breaths showing in the cold, squeals of laughter all around.

She stopped in the middle of the street and twirled to take it all in. Magic would never, _ever_ get old. "Where should we start?"

"Can we start at Zonko's?" Ron asked hopefully.

"May as well get it over with," Hermione replied.

"Don't sound too excited, now, Hermione. Wouldn't want to set yourself up for a disappointment."

"Ha ha." But when Hermione walked in, she was pleasantly surprised. No, she wasn't particularly interested in the jokes themselves, but surely it was okay to be curious, on a merely intellectual level. Magic could do some wonderful things.

She found herself separated from Ron, wandering around, looking for anything that caught her eye. "Hermione! Hermione, look!"

"What?" She had been examining a particularly impressive charm on a Hiccough Sweet, and didn't like being interrupted.

"D'you think Harry would like this?"

"A Dungbomb? Really?"

Ron shrugged. "It could come in useful."

"Get him a Sugar Quill. He daydreams enough."

"Too boring, Hermione. We're in a joke shop! Have a laugh!"

She huffed disapprovingly. "Let's just get him something from somewhere else."

Dervish and Banges didn't have anything suitable for Harry, or at least nothing they could afford to get him as a present. Ron was insistent about a broom polishing kit, but it seemed a bit much for just a "Sorry you weren't allowed to join us, Harry" present. She filed the idea away for a potential birthday gift.

They went into the post office yet and Hermione felt like she could live there, if it wasn't for the smell of owl droppings that permeated the small shop. "Ron. Ronald, look. Their owls are _color coded_." She wandered through the rows of owls, who all hooted at her benevolently. "And this one can fly all the way to Australia? I'm tempted to send a letter there, just to see..." The price for that particular owl, a hearty one twice the size of the average owl, was displayed below his perch. "Oh, maybe some other time."

Ron grinned. "It's like you've never seen an owl before, mate."

She shrugged. "Not like this. Anyway, should we go?"

They passed Madam Puddifoot's and Ron started overdramatically pretending to be sick. "I get how girls like that kind of thing, but I don't know how the blokes can stand it."

"_I_ wouldn't like it in there," Hermione said.

Ron looked confused. "Well, of course not. You're... _you_. Anyway, should we go to the Three Broomsticks and then Honeydukes, or the other way round?"

"You said Butterbeer was delicious?"

"Best thing you've ever had."

"Then let's go to the Three Broomsticks first. It would be nice to sit down for a bit." She expected their conversation to be stilted, awkward perhaps, without Harry to buffer them, but somehow the conversation with Ron had her pleasantly surprised. Sure, he talked about Quidditch too much, but that couldn't be helped.

Time passed quickly in his company, and as Hermione finished her Butterbeer, she reflected on just how far they'd come from her mediocre first impression of him. Maybe Ron really could be considered her friend.

Honeydukes was probably the best part of the trip. Hermione wasn't much for sweets, but something about _these_ sweets and _this_ sweet shop that intrigued her. "Free sample of fudge, dear?"

Hermione had to keep from giggling, thinking about the Minister for Magic. "I'll try some, thank you." It was sticky and sweet and made a mess of her hands, but she hadn't tasted chocolate so good anywhere. "We have a friend back at school, he couldn't come today. Do you mind if we take a sample for him?"

"Friends with a second year? How kind of you." Hermione didn't correct her as she wrapped the fudge sample in tissue.

"What else should we bring him?" she asked Ron as they found a new corner of the store to explore.

"Anything and everything. Let's just get loads and let him choose."

"But we didn't bring anything to carry the food back in! I should have thought - I don't know where my brain was, honestly-"

"Hermione. Calm down. We have pockets. And it's freezing out; I doubt our sweets will melt or anything."

"Oh, um, that's a good point. Pepper Imps?" she asked, looking at the nearest display.

Ron shrugged. "Why not?"

They paid at the register, and their pockets full of sweets cost much less than an experimental letter to Australia. The wind was stronger on the way back, and they reached the castle flustered, pinkness covering over Ron's usually prominent freckles. Spending the day together without Harry had changed something subtle; there wasn't a Harry-sized gap between them anymore and they chattered and laughed like real friends. Tomorrow was a mystery, sure, and they likely hadn't had their last row. But that was okay because in that moment, she knew she had two best friends.


End file.
